Written Answers to Questions

Wednesday 19 November 2003

SOLICITOR-GENERAL

Departmental Expenditure (Official Residences)

Mr. Flight:
To ask the Solicitor-General how much the Department spent on (a) maintenance, (b) renovation, (c) council tax and (d) running costs of residential properties used by Ministers and officials in each year since 1997. [134702]

The Solicitor-General:
Nothing. None of the Departments for which the Attorney-General is responsible have residential properties used by Ministers or officials.

CABINET OFFICE

Civil Service

Mr. Ben Chapman:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will make a statement on progress towards achieving ethnic diversity within the senior civil service. [139750]

Mr. Alexander:
The Government are strongly committed to achieving ethnic diversity in the senior civil service and to ensuring that the civil service is fully representative of the community it serves.

Latest data, for April 2003, show that ethnic minorities make up 2.8 per cent. at senior civil service level, up from 1.6 per cent. in 1998. Our target is for

19 Nov 2003 : Column 878W

ethnic minorities to make up 3.2 per cent. of the senior civil service by 200405.

Departmental Website

John Barrett:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what recent assessment he has made of the content and design of his Department's website. [139340]

Mr. Alexander:
The Cabinet Office commissioned an external review of the content and design of its internet presence in February and March of 2003. We are now putting in place the recommendations from this review.

Market Research

Dr. Cable:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how much his Department spent on (a) opinion polling and (b) market research in the last financial year; and if he will make a statement. [139991]

Mr. Alexander:
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Buckingham (Mr. Bercow) on 15 May 2003, Official Report, column 402W.

Government Bodies

Norman Lamb:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will make a statement on the (a) purpose, (b) annual budget since inception, (c) projected budget for the next two years and (d) current work programme of the (i) Prime Minister's Delivery Unit, (ii) Office of Public Services Reform and (iii) Office of the e-Envoy. [139775]

Mr. Alexander:
The work of the units is explained in the Cabinet Office's Departmental Report for 2003, published in May 2003.

Financial Information is shown in the following table.

Budgets for the next two years will be decided on completion of the Cabinet Office planning round, which is currently under way.

£ million

Financial year unit established

19992000

200001

200102

200203(1)

Budget 200304

Prime Minister's Delivery Unit

200102

0

0

0.9

3.1

3.8

Office of Public Services Reform

200102

0

0

2.0

5.7

4.2

Office of the e-Envoy

19992000

38.5

22.7

25.5

24.8

17.5

(1) Subject to audit.

Norman Lamb:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many staff are employed in the (a) Prime Minister's Delivery Unit, (b) Office of Public Services Reform and (c) Office of the e-Envoy; where these staff are located; and if he will make a statement. [139776]

Mr. Alexander:
As at 3 November 2003, there were 28 staff working in the Prime Minister's Delivery Unit, 40 working in the Office of Public Services Reform and 105 in the Office of the e-Envoy. These figures are for Cabinet Office employees and are rounded to full-time equivalents. All of these units are based in central London.

Norman Lamb:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many times the (a) Cabinet Office Strategy Board, (b) Business Regulation Team, (c) Regulatory Reform Strategy Team, (d) Public Sector Team, (e) Europe and Economics Team, (f) Reform Strategy Group and (g) Corporate Development Group have met since they were established; how much each meeting cost; what the (i) annual budget since inception has been, (ii) projected budget for the next two years is and (iii) current work programme of each body is; and if he will make a statement. [139777]

Mr. Alexander:
The Cabinet Office Strategy Board has met regularly since its formation earlier this year. The secretariat for the Cabinet Office Strategy Board is an integral part of the Managing Director's private office. There is no separate budget line for this work.

19 Nov 2003 : Column 879W

The terms of reference for the Cabinet Office Strategy Board are available on the Cabinet Office website (www.cabinet-office.gov.uk).

The Business Regulation Team, the Regulatory Reform Strategy team, the Public Sector Team and, the Europe and Economics Team are all functional work

19 Nov 2003 : Column 880W

areas within the Cabinet Office's Regulatory Impact Unit, and therefore do not 'meet' in the way an ad-hoc Board or committee might do.

The Resource Outturn for these teams since their inception is as follows:

£ million

19992000

200001

200102

200203

200304

Business Regulation Team

0

0

0.1

0.3

0.3

Regulatory Reform Strategy

0

0

0

0.2

0.4

Public Sector Team

0.1

0.3

0.6

0.6

0.7

Europe and Economics Team

0.6

0.4

0.3

0.4

0.4

The work of the Regulatory Impact Unit is explained in the Cabinet Office's Departmental Report for 2003, published in May 2003.

The Reform Strategy Group and Corporate Development Group are functional units of the Cabinet Office. Annual budgets are as follows:

£ million

200203

200203

Reform Strategy Group

1.6

(2)

Corporate Development Group

17.1

14.7

(2) The work of the Reform Strategy Group has been absorbed within other units.

Budgets for the next two years will be decided on completion of the Cabinet Office planning round, which is currently under way.

Official Properties

Mr. Flight:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how much the Department spent on (a) maintenance, (b) renovation, (c) council tax and (d) running costs of residential properties used by Ministers and officials in each year since 1997. [134685]

Mr. Alexander:
Admiralty House contains residential accommodation for Ministers and the occupying Departments are responsible for relevant costs associated with each of the residential flats. No Cabinet Office Ministers are currently accommodated in Admiralty House. The Cabinet Office is responsible for costs associated with the common parts, as well as for maintaining the fabric of the entire building.

The Cabinet Office's share of the maintenance costs of Admiralty House for 200203 was £2,295.

From February 2002 to September 2002, a major electrical rewiring, asbestos removal and redecoration project was undertaken to the ground floor state rooms and two of the residential flats. The cost of this work (which was borne by the Cabinet Office) was £629,266.

The Cabinet Office's share of the running costs of Admiralty House (i.e. excluding the appropriate share of the costs from the occupying Departments) for 200203 was £631,421.

Information about the costs of official residences used by Ministers for previous financial years is already in the public domain.

Two Cabinet Office officials occupy accommodation in residential properties in the grounds of the Emergency Planning College in Easingwold. One flat is occupied by an official working at the Emergency Planning College on detached duty. The other occupant pays a market rent for the property, which was established by a valuation conducted within the past 18 months by independent valuers appointed by the Office of Government Commerce. Records are not held separately of the maintenance, renovation and running costs associated with these properties in particular and these costs could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The council tax for 200203 associated with the property occupied by the individual on detached duty was approximately £175. For 199798, the council tax associated with properties occupied by college employees was approximately £190, for 199899 and 19992000 no college employees resided in college properties, for 200001 the approximate council tax was £50, and for 200102 the council tax was approximately £150.

From 1997 to May 2002, some officials were accommodated in civil service college properties on the college's Sunningdale estate. The individual occupants of the properties were responsible for paying the rents that had been established by independent valuers. From June 1999 to March 2000, a number of general repairs were made, to some of the residential dwellings occupied by college staff, amounting to £20,827. In October 2000, £365 was spent on repairs. In January 2002, £3,160 was spent on repairs. There may have been other costs incurred under a maintenance contract let to cover the whole of the Sunningdale Park estate, however, it is not possible to disaggregate costs to a level of individual building. The individual occupants were responsible for their own council tax and running costs (such as utility bills).